Dog Food

[casnco]

Yea! I am getting a new puppy! (okay, I know all puppy's are new, He He) But I am concerned about feeding it food with gluten. No I wont be french kissing my dog. However, I am a freek about everything in my house being gluten free.

Anyone else like me out there? What do you feed your pets?

[tarnalberry]

A Post on the Very Topic!

Congratulations on the new puppy!

(BTW, I learned this the hard way, if he is one of the medium to larger breeds (say, expected to reach 40lbs or more), do *NOT* let him go bounding down stairs. Or, jumping off anything tall-ish (like jumping out of the car - lift or use a ramp). Or excessive ball/frisbee chasing where they plant their feet and pivot really fast. My 8mo old pup has been dealing with a chronic shoulder injury (~3 months now) that doesn't seem to cause him pain, but he demonstrates a slight lameness when trotting every now and again. We've worked with two 'regular' vets and a sports vet (and she's going to consult with an orthopaedic surgeon vet) to learn that it is probably nothing that requires surgery (cross my fingers), but we do have to keep him on "restricted activity" until he *fully* heals, and that is a pain in the butt! You learn all kinds of things about how to properly take care of your dog when you take your training from people who pretty much just work with performance/working dogs. )

[msmini14]

I feed my dogs Nutro. It has oats but there is no wheat/barley/rye etc. It is in a green bag and made for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

Congrats on your new puppy! =)

[happygirl]

Wellness Core is grain free.

[casnco]

A Post on the Very Topic!

Congratulations on the new puppy!

(BTW, I learned this the hard way, if he is one of the medium to larger breeds (say, expected to reach 40lbs or more), do *NOT* let him go bounding down stairs. Or, jumping off anything tall-ish (like jumping out of the car - lift or use a ramp). Or excessive ball/frisbee chasing where they plant their feet and pivot really fast. My 8mo old pup has been dealing with a chronic shoulder injury (~3 months now) that doesn't seem to cause him pain, but he demonstrates a slight lameness when trotting every now and again. We've worked with two 'regular' vets and a sports vet (and she's going to consult with an orthopaedic surgeon vet) to learn that it is probably nothing that requires surgery (cross my fingers), but we do have to keep him on "restricted activity" until he *fully* heals, and that is a pain in the butt! You learn all kinds of things about how to properly take care of your dog when you take your training from people who pretty much just work with performance/working dogs. )

Thanks for sharing your experience! I will be careful with the play. Is this something that in the first year you have to be careful with or just the first year?

[casnco]

I feed my dogs Nutro. It has oats but there is no wheat/barley/rye etc. It is in a green bag and made for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

Congrats on your new puppy! =)

Jennifer, Thanks for the info. I have a puppy food that has barley in it but no other allergens. I think I want to try to find one without any. It is so hard. Cost is a minor issue, gosh, cost is always an issue. But I planned on feeding the dog a better quality food. With the last dog I learned real quick that inexpensive food gave her D! Explosive! Cleaning it off the walls just wasn't for me. LOL

[casnco]

Wellness Core is grain free.

Happygirl: Thanks, where do you buy that at? A pet store? WalMart? I will be looking for it on my next trip to the store. Thanks so much!

[casnco]

Happygirl: Thanks, where do you buy that at? A pet store? WalMart? I will be looking for it on my next trip to the store. Thanks so much!

Ahh! never mind, a little search on the net turned up Jacks Aquarium. Have one of those right here in town! Don't need to go to the city to find it! YEA! I'll check it out this morning!

[tarnalberry]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I will be careful with the play. Is this something that in the first year you have to be careful with or just the first year?

It's REALLY important until the growth plates close. (Depending on the dog, that's between 12 and 24 months - the larger the dog, the longer until the growth plates close. I have a standard poodle, who'll be around 55-60lbs, and ~23-24" at the shoulders, and he'll probably finish fusing growth plates at somewhere between 20 and 24 months of age. I won't be neutering him until then, since sex hormones regulate bone growth, and 'early' neutering can affect the length/density of the long bones in particular.) But even after that, it's structurally hard on the dogs - harder on dogs not "designed" for it (like terriers). It's the equivalent of you jumping off a second story balcony regularly - only you're better designed for it than a dog is.

(I'm right in the stage of "well, crap, what fun stuff do I do with my dog? he LOVES pouncing, leaping, and hard ball chasing." But we do more training to keep his brain occupied, longer walks. No trail running or running on the sidewalk yet, until he's over a year old (again, impact wear considerations), but definitely trotting (which, with his leg length, is practically a jog for me) on a walk and when training heeling and controlled walking. And he gets his full out run when we practice a recall. But it's been nearly $600 trying to figure out the problem - two initial vet visits, sedated x-rays, and the sports vet, and I don't want to go through that again!)

[casnco]

It's REALLY important until the growth plates close. (Depending on the dog, that's between 12 and 24 months - the larger the dog, the longer until the growth plates close. I have a standard poodle, who'll be around 55-60lbs, and ~23-24" at the shoulders, and he'll probably finish fusing growth plates at somewhere between 20 and 24 months of age. I won't be neutering him until then, since sex hormones regulate bone growth, and 'early' neutering can affect the length/density of the long bones in particular.) But even after that, it's structurally hard on the dogs - harder on dogs not "designed" for it (like terriers). It's the equivalent of you jumping off a second story balcony regularly - only you're better designed for it than a dog is.

(I'm right in the stage of "well, crap, what fun stuff do I do with my dog? he LOVES pouncing, leaping, and hard ball chasing." But we do more training to keep his brain occupied, longer walks. No trail running or running on the sidewalk yet, until he's over a year old (again, impact wear considerations), but definitely trotting (which, with his leg length, is practically a jog for me) on a walk and when training heeling and controlled walking. And he gets his full out run when we practice a recall. But it's been nearly $600 trying to figure out the problem - two initial vet visits, sedated x-rays, and the sports vet, and I don't want to go through that again!)

I know this is a celiac disease forum but I am glad I met you!! I am going to picking up my standard poodle puppy in two long weeks! Thanks for the info! I will be careful. Do you have pet insurance? I am thinking about it. I may be wrong but I think larger dogs seem to have more problems. My dogs father is 27 inches at the shoulders mom is about 24. The breeder thinks ours will be like dad. Hope so cause dad is much cuter.

How old is your pup? White? Black? Brown? Red? Pardi? Will you be showing? Not me, maybe some agility training. That looks fun. I'll have to reassess now when to start. I'll have to watch some competitions to determine the impact of what the dog does. Again, so glad I met you before I went nuts with the dog.

Thanks for sharing!

Debbie

[tarnalberry]

I know this is a celiac disease forum but I am glad I met you!! I am going to picking up my standard poodle puppy in two long weeks! Thanks for the info! I will be careful. Do you have pet insurance? I am thinking about it. I may be wrong but I think larger dogs seem to have more problems. My dogs father is 27 inches at the shoulders mom is about 24. The breeder thinks ours will be like dad. Hope so cause dad is much cuter.

How old is your pup? White? Black? Brown? Red? Pardi? Will you be showing? Not me, maybe some agility training. That looks fun. I'll have to reassess now when to start. I'll have to watch some competitions to determine the impact of what the dog does. Again, so glad I met you before I went nuts with the dog.

Thanks for sharing!

Debbie

It's been a real learning experience for me! I totally though "oh, it's a puppy, they'll be fine regardless of what they do." HAH! The best recommendation I can give is to find a *GOOD* training center, and get in with the best teachers there. They'll know good vets, recognize good gaiting, helping with problem behaviors. And if you're really happy with the breeder, try to stay in touch with him/her too. I *love* my breeder, and the community she's set up. It's been very helpful.

A couple of things moderately unique to many poodles that my breeder warned me about when I picked up my guy:

1) they love retrieving, even when they shouldn't. it's what they were originally bred to do. "look mom, I brought your shoe! isn't this fun!?!" "look mom, I brought your sock!" "your other shoe!" "your bra!" "your *anything else I can reach!*" DO NOT CHASE HIM! the dog will be faster. and trickier. and will *love* to play chase. stifle your groans, look pleased as punch that he brought you something so wonderful, take him over to his treats (we have treat bags all around the house - every room - because of this), and teach him "trade", article for treat. then redirect his behavior to an appropriate toy. yup, he might bring you things more often, but it is *way* better than chase & chew.

2) poodles are prone to bloat. some breeders even recommend a preventative gastropexy when they are spayed/neutered (the stomach is stapled to a rib), as this is one of two breeds where it's common enough that it's worthwhile to take preventative measures. at the least, "roll over" isn't a great trick for poodles, and keeping them from running around like a terror an hour before or after eating is a good idea. if the dog ever looks like it really doesn't feel well, and it's stomach looks at all distended and tight, RUSH to the vet IMMEDIATELY. do not wait it out. bloat with torsion is not something to every 'wait out'. you only have a couple hours, if you catch it early.

3) you've heard poodles are smart? if your guy is anything other than extremely mellow, take that to mean "a handful. it's a lovely thing when training, but it's also difficult, as a handler, because it's continually shocking to me how much I have to watch my behavior and try to think faster than the dog - and it's hard! (well, for someone who's never trained dogs before. my teacher is greatly amused by us!) they'll try to get away with the least possible that you'll let them, so I'd start looking for places to take training classes now, because if you don't keep him mentally stimulated as well as physically active, he will find ways of getting "creative". (ooo... creative is bad. /eyeroll at my puppy!)

I don't have pet insurance, and I hear some of it is good, some isn't. I haven't really investigated like I should, so I'm no help there.

I do highly recommend crate training (which I presume you're going to do), but wanted to share my experience. My dog hates vari-kennels (plastic crates). When we got him, we started crate training, and he'd whine *all night* while he was in the thing. It was *right next to the bed* so I could stick my fingers in, but he'd whine. I had to put it - and myself - in the living room, sleeping right in front of the door at first, and slowly moving off to the side until he didn't have direct, constant sight on me. Took two weeks to do that. He still didn't like the crate. We ended up using a metal crate and then later still added an expen for when we're gone during the day. The crate definitely helped with housebreaking - take him out right before bed, once or twice in the middle of the night, once in the morning (and then during the day), and he was house broken in two weeks. I think we had a grand total of four accidents in the house - one because we were not properly paying attention. (And then we bell trained him, that was good!) By about five months, he was usually good with sleeping through the night without any potty breaks. But the first two weeks were really tough, the first month fairly tough. TOTALLY WORTH IT, THOUGH!

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

(You'll see some examples of things he should not have been allowed to do in those photo sets! Live and learn. The second one will have better educated parents! )

He's cream. (His litter was cream and black.) I'm kinda interested in agility, but a little worried on the wear on his joints. I may also try tracking, because he seems to *love* following scent tracks. Right now, I'm training him in competition obedience, and might try competing; we'll see how he does. He needs a bit more maturity in his crazy little head! Mostly, he's going to go hiking with me.

[casnco]

Hi everyone. Just wanted to update on dog food ordeal. I am feeding new puppy Eukenuba, Not sure how to spell that. And I am making his treats. I use a skillet and fry some liver without oil. When it is cooked I cut into small pieces and put on baking sheet and bake @ 350 degrees for 20 min. This drys the liver out and it is good for as long as the treats last without refrigeration. Works out well and we are all gluten free!!! Yea!!!

[Dan300]

Hi , while I was researching my DH, I Googled "gluten poisoning " one study report , actually from our home page came up about the pet food gluten poisoning (melamine ? ) from china where almost 3000 cats died, but the main point went on to explain that dogs and cats shouldn't be eating gluten filler cereals in their foods as they end up getting all the same cronic diseases that we get. they said that in the wild on their natural diet that dogs could live up to 30 years and cats up to 40 years . something to think about , Dan

[Takala]

I just went to the pet food store this weekend and checked Eukanuba's labels, and it is NOT GLUTEN FREE. I looked at many different flavors of Eukanuba, some with incredibly pretty pictures on the labels, with wolves and moose and whatnot, and all of them showed something like barley, which is a member of the wheat family that celiac and gluten intolerant people react to.

Repeat: Eukanuba is NOT gluten free as of June 2009. There might have been a flavor variation I missed.

I was told by a sales clerk that they had just changed their formulas. Bummer.

Not only do I need gluten free dog food to avoid reactions for me, but I have 2 dogs (both part breds of the same breed) that also need to avoid it. I have found one local brand of dog food so far that seems to work for them, which is a chicken and corn mix, but both of my dogs tolerate corn well. Some people won't feed corn to dogs. I have even seen so - called allergy formulas that have soy in them, which is a BIG no- no for a lot of sensitive dogs, or other ingredients I'm pretty sure wouldn't be completely gluten free, such as regular oatmeal. My one dog gets so ocd hyperactive on accidental glutenings I really try to keep him free of it so we don't drive each other crazy. I'm cooking rice and meat for the other one to mix with this dry food. I found another brand of dog food that seems to be gluten free, a lamb and rice mix, but the rice eating dog got a lot of gas from it. I can't believe how many of these lamb and rice mixes had wheat in it when you read the labels.

I checked a LOT of different dog foods, some labeled "wheat free," some "gluten free" and all of them still contained barley or wheat in some form.

The Bottom Line Is: READ YOUR LABELS, EVERY TIME !

I have spoken to a manufacturer's representative at one of these stores, who was trying to pass off a "gluten free" brand of dog food ("Blue") that contained BARLEY to me, and I explained as well as I could that putting a "gluten free" label on this was not accurate because humans react to not only wheat, but barley and rye and any ingredients made of these, such as natural flavorings. It was "holistic" this and "natural" that, and supposedly cooked a special way, but I stuck to my point- people buy dog foods to avoid the wheat family of grains not only for the dogs, but for themselves to avoid cross contamination from dog saliva.

[psawyer]

There are a number of gluten-free dog foods (and cat foods) available. They tend to be at the higher end of the quality scale, and thus also on the price scale. Look for them in a pet specialty store. You are less likely to find them at big box stores, even ones like Petsmart.

For a dry food, here are just a few ideas:

Taste of the Wild - all formulas

Merrick Before Grain - all formulas

Canidae All Life Stages Grain Free (dog only)

Natural Balance - some versions - read the label

Wellness - some formulas - read the label

For a canned food, consider:

Natural Balance - some versions - read the label

Wellness - some formulas - read the label

There are many others. The ones I mentioned are widely available in Canada and the US.

Wheat is actually not common in dry food. It is commonly used in wet foods that have a chunks-in-gravy or with-sauce style, as a component of the sauce to give the desired consistency.

Be sure to look at any treats you may be feeding. This is the most likely source of wheat in your dog's diet. Gluten-free treats exist, including biscuits (Natural Balance makes three kinds).

I hope this helps.

[PattyBoots]

A wonderful treat that you AND your pup can share is: Take a cookie sheet, put a piece of parchment on it, and pipe (I just use a plastic bag with the corner cut off) blobs about the size of your pinkie nail of canned pumpkin on it. Not the pumpkin pie mix, but just plain ol' canned pumpkin. Then freeze until the blobs are completely solid, put them in a plastic bag, and store in the freezer. Next to no calories, plenty of fiber, no gluten, and a crunchy, frozen treat that doesn't make a mess! We make these for our diabetic wiener dog and he loves them!

[casnco]

I just went to the pet food store this weekend and checked Eukanuba's labels, and it is NOT GLUTEN FREE. I looked at many different flavors of Eukanuba, some with incredibly pretty pictures on the labels, with wolves and moose and whatnot, and all of them showed something like barley, which is a member of the wheat family that celiac and gluten intolerant people react to.

Repeat: Eukanuba is NOT gluten free as of June 2009. There might have been a flavor variation I missed.

I was told by a sales clerk that they had just changed their formulas. Bummer.

Not only do I need gluten free dog food to avoid reactions for me, but I have 2 dogs (both part breds of the same breed) that also need to avoid it. I have found one local brand of dog food so far that seems to work for them, which is a chicken and corn mix, but both of my dogs tolerate corn well. Some people won't feed corn to dogs. I have even seen so - called allergy formulas that have soy in them, which is a BIG no- no for a lot of sensitive dogs, or other ingredients I'm pretty sure wouldn't be completely gluten free, such as regular oatmeal. My one dog gets so ocd hyperactive on accidental glutenings I really try to keep him free of it so we don't drive each other crazy. I'm cooking rice and meat for the other one to mix with this dry food. I found another brand of dog food that seems to be gluten free, a lamb and rice mix, but the rice eating dog got a lot of gas from it. I can't believe how many of these lamb and rice mixes had wheat in it when you read the labels.

I checked a LOT of different dog foods, some labeled "wheat free," some "gluten free" and all of them still contained barley or wheat in some form.

The Bottom Line Is: READ YOUR LABELS, EVERY TIME !

I have spoken to a manufacturer's representative at one of these stores, who was trying to pass off a "gluten free" brand of dog food ("Blue") that contained BARLEY to me, and I explained as well as I could that putting a "gluten free" label on this was not accurate because humans react to not only wheat, but barley and rye and any ingredients made of these, such as natural flavorings. It was "holistic" this and "natural" that, and supposedly cooked a special way, but I stuck to my point- people buy dog foods to avoid the wheat family of grains not only for the dogs, but for themselves to avoid cross contamination from dog saliva.

Thanks for the information. When I bought my puppy food(Eukanuba) I read the label carefully. There was no wheat, barley, oats or rye. I will double check the next time I need a bag.